Ingredients

• 2.5 cups water
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1 pound (or package) hot Italian sausage (or mild if you prefer less heat)
• 1 cup rice
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 green pepper
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon parsley
• 1 Tablespoon beef bouillon
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional: You can also add shrimp or chicken along with the sausage, but I only do this if Im entertaining a crowd or trying to fancy this meal up a bit.

Instructions

1. If using ground sausage, add it to your pot and turn on medium heat. If using sausage links, cook in a smaller separate pan while proceeding with the next steps.
2. Chop the onion, green pepper and garlic and add it to the pan with the ground sausage. If you're cooking the sausage links separately, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the vegetables so you have a starter liquid. Once the vegetables soften up a bit (the onions will start to turn translucent) and the sausage is cooked, drain off any excess grease if necessary.
3. Next add the water, crushed tomatoes, rice, and all the spices to the pot. If you used sausage links, now is the time to slice the cooked links and add them to the mixture.
4. Stir this mixture really well, turn down to a simmer (medium low) and put a lid on it.
5. The jumbalaya should cook really slowly for the next thirty minutes or so. This will give it time for the rice to cook. If you can hear it bubbling, turn it down a bit.
6. After about 30-40 minutes, the rice should be nice and soft and most of the tomato juices and water should be absorbed. If it's still a little liquidy, simply leave the lid off for five or ten minutes and it will thicken up.
7. Remove the bay leaf, garnish with fresh parsley if you please, and serve with a side of sourdough bread.